The
grand daddy of real-time strategies (RTS) returns on the PC in Red
Alert 3 which allows players to micromanage all facets of their army
from creation to battles. Speaking with another reviewer, they
informed me that they were all “Command & Conquered out” which may
be true for some gamers, however I’ve been out of the RTS picture
for a couple of years now and was ready to lead thousands into
battle.

Although Red Alert 3 may seem like another “Command & Conquer”, EA
have added a few different twists to the game to keep it fresh and
enjoyable to the gamer with humour being a huge key to its success.

The story revolves around the imminent fall of the Soviet Union who
have created a time machine to murder Albert Einstein in order to
remove their enemies technological advantage.

Unfortunately the
“butterfly” effect has occurred and although the Western Allies are
now weaker than the Soviet Union, their meddling with time has
created a paradox with the creation of Japan as a new world
superpower.

Japan
now have an army of cyber Samurai’s thanks to nanotechnology who are
complimented with psychotic anime inspired school girl commandos.
Japan’s not the only one with over the top units as the Soviet’s
have War Bear scouts who actually are bears, however you still
cannot beat the Japanese and their giant robots. The wackiness of
Red Alert 3 is brilliant and rather than boring tanks, the
developers have added a variety of amusing units such as combat
dolphins.

(Probably the best addition to the
franchise, Jenny McCarthy)

That’s
right, Red Alert 3 is not the Red Alert your father played, no… it’s
far from it, it’s the 21st century of RTS and gamers can
control one three super powers in order to become the leaders of
this new timeline.

The cutscenes in the game really helps progress
the storyline and features some of Hollywood’s greats that includes
Star Trek’s George Takei as the Japanese Empire and Playboy’s Jenny
McCarthy as super commando Tanya. The most amusing actor involved in J.K. Simmons who plays the president of the United States who is
oozing with insanity.

The
soundtrack of Red Alert 3 is brilliant thanks to Tim Wynn, James
Hannigan and Frank Klepacki who have created an engaging musical
score which not only pays homage to the original games but has a
healthy dose of Metal. Mach that with extremely professional and
sometimes clichéd voice acting such as the Russians and the comedy
aspect of the title just shines through.

Featuring
both a single-player campaign and multiplayer options, the
single-player campaign boasts 9 missions for each of the factions
with a total of 27 missions. Although the game is reminiscent of
many RTS titles on the market at the moment, the single-player gamer
shines through its bizarre storyline and strange units which is
exhilarating entertaining.

The
single-player mode is almost like a child suffering from ADHD as the
gameplay is so fast and quite explosive at times. Match that with a
brilliant co-op mode which you can play online against other players
or the game’s AI and it recreates a truly unique experience thanks
to the soul of this entertaining title.

The
developers have ensured that each of the factions are quite
different in terms of units with different strengths and weaknesses.
For instance, the Soviets are quite strong in their ability to
damage, whereas the Allies are more holistic in their approach and
the Japanese rely more on stealth. Best of all, a variety of units
created in Red Alert have a secondary power which does add the
uniqueness of the title when compared to other games of similar
style.

In
conclusion, Red Alert 3 is a true 21st century remake of the RTS
genre that features a healthy dose of humour which may be over the
top but it actually suits the genre perfectly.

It’s the Cold War
gone crazy and just shows what happens if you meddle with history
(kidding). Even the reviewer that said he was all “Command Conquered
out” changed his tune with Red Alert 3 and conceded that this was a
fun game that added to the genre. Good graphics, brilliant cutscenes
and engaging fun gameplay, Red Alert 3 is definitely one for lovers of
this genre.